Railroad-crossing



(No Mod'el.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. v

D. 'LIPPY.- I RAILROAD CROSSING;

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'Q'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. DAVID LIPPY, OF MANSFIELD, QHIO.

RAILROAD-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,568, dated March 25, 18184.

' Application filed May 19, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID LIPPY, of Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Crossings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in railroad-crossings, the object of the same being to provide means whereby movable railsections at a railroad-crossing are caused to be operated automatically by an approaching train for the purpose of forming a continuous or unbroken track for the said train; and with this end in view my invention consists in the parts andcombinations of parts, as willbe more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View, showing the upper track open. Fig. 2is a similar view, showing the position of the parts when the lower track is open;

and Fig. 3 is a detached perspective View of one of the movable rail-sections.

A represents the lower continuous trackway, and B a trackway crossing the trackway A at right or any other angle. The rails of the trackway B as they approach the track A on opposite sides thereof are gradually elevated, so as to enable the movable rail-sections of the track B to rest on the rails of the track way A when the upper track is open for the passage of a train, without cutting or otherwise injuring the rails of the trackway A.

The rigid rails of the trackway B terminate over the crossing in safety without the jarring usually experienced while riding over the old form of crossings.

The movable rail-sections 0 are made preferably in the shape shown, with an outwardlyextending arm, 0, to which short rods are pivotally secured. These movable sections are pivotally secured near their outer ends to the base plates 1), and when in open position, as shown in Fig. 2, rest on the metallic stands E, the upper surfaces of which rest flush. with the upper surface of the rails of the trackway A. The movable sections O. are much wider than the rigid rails, and when they are in closed position, as shown in Fig. 1, are supported on the base-plates b and b, the cross-rails D, and the rails of the trackway A, which combined form a firm substantial bearing for the movable rail-sections and relieves the bolts which pivotally secure the said movable rails to the base-plate b of all strain. The movable sections 0, as before stated, form continuations of the trackway B, and are adapted to be turned laterally or horizontally on their pivots,for the purpose of opening the lower trackway. When the sections 0 are turned so as to open the lower track, the said sections lie at right angles to the rails of the trackway B and parallel and outside of the rails of the trackway A. A sufficient space between the baseplates b and the cross-rails D and the rails of the trackway A is left for the free passage and play of the flanges of the car-wheels.

The movable rail-sections O are operated by the metallic operating-bars. F, which latter are pivotally secured at their outer ends to suitable bases, a, secured alongside of the rails of both trackways on opposite sides of the crossing. The front ends of these bars F,when the latter are off the rails, are supported on the metallic stands G, which latter lie in the same horizontal plane with the rails of their respective traclcways, and each stand is provided with an upward extension, cl, having an oblong slot for the passage of the guide-rods e, the innervends of which latter are rigidly secured to the bars F. These bars, four in number, are arranged on opposite sides of-the crossing, and the outer ends thereof are pivotally connected to the rods 1, two of which latter are connected to the bell-crank levers two bars F of the trackway A are connected to the shaft L, while the two bars F of the trackway B are connected to the bell-crank levers K. These bell-crank levers are pivotally secured to suitable bed-plates, f, and the opposite ends thereof are connected to the shaft L by the rods M. The rock or crank shaft L, which is provided with four or more cranks, is connected directly to two of the movable sections 0 by the rods 0, and to the other two movable rail-sections through the intervention of the long rods P, lever P, and short rods P The long rods 1? run transversely under the trackway A, and the entire set of rods, levers, and movable rails are operated simultaneously with the movement of the rock-shaft L. This rock-shaft L is situated transversely under the trackway B, and is provided at one end with aweighted lever, B, which latter holds the movable rail-section either closed orfopen. The upper weighted end of the lever B is adapted to lie on the rests g g, which latter are faced with rubber or other flexible material, and serve as buffers to lessen the shock and strain of the several parts, caused by the sudden movement of the said lever from one rest to the other. The several parts are so adjusted that when two of the bars F are over the rails of one trackway, the other two bars on the other trackway (which is then open) are off the rails, so that the wheels of a passing car will not impinge thereon. Suppose, for the sake of illustration, that theupper trackway, B, is open and the lower one, A, closed, then the bars F of the trackway B would lie to one side of the rails of the trackway B, and the two bars of the trackway A on opposite sides of the crossing would lie diagonally across the rail in such position that it would be impossible for a train approaching the crossing from either side to pass without impinging on said bars. As the train approaches the crossing the front wheels thereof strike the bar F and move it outward and off of the track. This slight movement of the single bar is sufficient to turn the crankshaft, which in turn operates all of the movable sections and turns them around on their pivots until they stand at right angles to the rails of the trackway B. This movement necessarily makes a break in the trackway B and throws the bars F alongside of the said trackwayover onto the rails, or in a position to turn the movable sections around in line with the trackway B.

If desired, I can employ target-signals in connection with the other parts, for the purpose of informing the engineer of an approach ing train of the condition of the crossing; but as the movements of the parts are regular and positive no signal is needed.

It is evident that slight changes in the construction and relative arrangement of the several parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of -my invention, and hence I would have it understood that I do.

not confine myself to'the exact construction shown and described, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv 1. In a railroad-crossing, the combination, with the trackways A and B and horizontallymovable rail-sections, of horizontally-movable bars, two of which are adapted to lie diagonally across the rails of one trackway, while the other two rails lie to one side of the rails of the other trackway, and devices connecting the said bars, whereby the movable rail-sec tions are operated, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the trackways A and B and cross-rails, the adjacent ends of the rails of the trackway B and cross-rails being beveled, of the horizontally-movable railsections, provided with the beveled surfaces a and an outwardly-extending arm, 0, and devices for automatically operating said movable sections on the approach of a train, sub-- stantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the trackways A and B, the cross-rails, and the bases 1) and b, the adjacent ends of the rails of the trackway B and the cross-rails being beveled. of the movable rail-sections, provided wit-h the beveled surfaces at, and devices for automatically operating the movable rail-sections on the approach of a train, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the trackways A and B cross-rails, and horizontally-movable rail-sections, of the pivoted bars F, the inner or adjacent ends of which move on suitable stands situated in the same horizontal planes With-the rails of the trackways, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the trackways A and B, cross-rails, and movable rail-sections, of the bars F, provided with guide-rods, standards, each provided with a slot for the passage of its respective guide-rod, and devices connecting the bars F and movable rail-sections, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the trackways A and B, the cross-rails, movable rail-sections, and bars F, of the rock or crankshaft connected indirectly to the bars F, and also to the movable rail-sections, for the purpose of moving the parts simultaneously, substantially as set forth. 7

7. The combination, with the trackways A and B, cross-rails, and movable rail-sections, of the bars F, crank-shaft,and rods connecting the bars F and movable rail-sections to the crank-shaft, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the trackways A and B, cross-rails, and movable rail-sections,-

-0f the bars F, crank-shaft, rods andlevers eonnecting the bars and movable rai1-secti0ns to the crank-shaft, and a weighted lever secured to one end of the said shaft, substantially as set forth 9. The combination, with the traekways A and B, the cross-rails, and movable rail-sections, of the bars F, crank-shaft, and the rods and levers, substantially as shown, whereby 

